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Baby refusing to nurse

Discussion in 'Breast Feeding' started by Blossom, Apr 19, 2008.

  1. Riyasmommy

    Riyasmommy Silver IL'ite

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    Blossom, our daughter Riya has a cold since the last two days, and the first night was really, really bad. I haven't been giving any medication (it's not safe to give cold medicines to babies), all I did was keep putting saline drops and sucked out the gunk from her nose. We use this aspirator and trust me as I say that this is the best 20 bucks I have ever spent on the baby. Amazon.com: BébéSounds Nasal Clear Battery Operated Nasal Aspirator: Baby. You can find it at Walmart or Babies R Us.

    It's really hard for a baby to suck when there is nasal blockage, so now I put saline drops in Riya's nose, leave it on for a minute and then suction out the gunk from her nose and then feed her. It helps.

    Oh, and if he's having a hard time sleeping through the night becuase of stuffy nose, try putting him down in the car seat on the floor, that's what I did with Riya and she slept for two hours!

    Hope your baby feels better soon. (((hugs)))
     
  2. indianmama

    indianmama New IL'ite

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    formula/breastfeeding time frame

    I am BF 8 month old baby exclusively since birth. She'll be 9 months next week. I had feeding issues with her since birth. She wouldn't nurse properly. So far I've seen many lactation consultants and they all couldn't help me much. Now since I started giving her solids at 6 months she is not taking enough BM. She nurses only 4 times during day and during night couple sessions and they are very short like lasting only couple of minutes and she doesn't suck much during this time. If I pump her some milk and give in the sippy cup she'll drink only 1 ounce max from it thats it. Now my question is my supply really went down or I should say completely gone as I pump only some drops I am taking fenugreek tablets to increase my supply and also pumping every 2-3 hrs. Still I don't see much difference at all. I really wanted to nurse her for atleast the first year but looking at my milk supply I really get dippressed. She refuses to take formula. I tried all types similac, enfamil, good start and also soy based. I even started mixing banana, parleG biscuit in the formula to see if she likes it. But she is not drinking at all. I am worried about her nourishment. Is it ok if she doesn't take milk like this? Could anyone tell me how to solve this please.
     
  3. tikka

    tikka Gold IL'ite

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    Re: formula/breastfeeding time frame

    Indianmama, welcome to the breastfeeding forum and congratulations on nursing your LO the first six months successfully.

    I am sorry, I dont get it. Does she receive anything other than breastmilk now? What are her meals like. Can you post a sample for us here. This is what a typical 9 mo should be sample menu should be like.
    For Babies 7 to 9 months of age: Watch baby's cues, but be careful not to go "too fast" with too many solids. Some babies will do fine with a little "meal" every few days, every other day, or every day, for weeks after beginning solids. This is fine. Other babies may increase to daily solids pretty quickly.

    You say your child nurses 4 x in the day plus x2 in the night. So that looks like it is very much in the normal range. If your child is receiving more than two solid feeds in the day, maybe you can scale back and put on breast more often then. Always give solids 30 min to one hour after you've nursed.

    You do know that pumping is not a real indicator for how much milk your child consumes. Some women, including me, do not respond very well the pump. In the initial days I pumped x8 to increase my supply and I pumped for 10 min after K finished feeding. When I collected all of it together, sometimes it would just be one oz. I was prescribed another galactogogue called Lactare by TTK Pharma. I kind of respond to it better than other things!

    Children become more and more efficient as the become older, sometimes, feeding not more than 5 min on both breasts.

    How has her weightgain been. Are her paedi's concerned about it?

    Also wanted to throw this thing in. Is this poor pumping a recent phenomenon. Do you think your post partum period may be returning?!? Also, the LC that you are visiting, is he certified by the IBCLE... I am told the LCs come in all shapes and acuity and the ones with IBCLC are the best among the lot!
     
  4. Riyasmommy

    Riyasmommy Silver IL'ite

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    Re: formula/breastfeeding time frame

    Welcome aboard, indianmama. If you are worried about the baby's nourishment, at this age, you can start her slowly on solids. I don't think you really need to force formula on her. Again, if she's gaining weight well and her pedi is not concernced at all then I wouldn't worry. Like Krithika said, at this age babies are a pro at breastfeeding. My daughter used to nurse for 30 minutes to an hour in the beginning, and now her nursing session doesn't last for more than 10 minutes, and she's full after that.

    If at all you decide to start on solids, start with pureed veggies, fruits and continue with your breastmilk. That should give her sufficient nourishment. We all want what is best for our babies, but don't get stressed out and beat yourself that you couldn't meet your goal of breastfeedinng until the baby is one. You did so well for six months so give a pat on your back for that. Remember stress is NOT going to help you when it comes to breastfeeding. It can actually cut down your supply drastically. When introducing solids, follow the '4 day rule', introduce one kind of food and wait atleast 4 days before introducing another to see if there's any allergic reaction to that food.

    At 9 months this is what my daughter's feeding schedule looked like (and still is more or less the same way) -

    7:30 am - Breastfeeding
    9:30 am - Breastfeeding first, and then 1/4 cup of cheerios or cheese slices. She doesn't get solids for breakfast always though.
    12:00 pm - lunch - oatmeal porridge or steamed veggies or fruits and then topping it off with breastfeeding

    3:00 pm - Breastfeeding

    6:00 pm - Dinner- Khichdi+dahi or steamed, baked veggies or fruits (whatever I am making for dinnner, I doctor it up for her taste)

    8:00 pm - Breastfeeding

    I am still not on a timed schedule. I nurse her on demand, so the timings vary when we travel or when she's busy playing but this was just a rough schedule to give you an idea.

    Raj
     
  5. Riyasmommy

    Riyasmommy Silver IL'ite

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    Re: formula/breastfeeding time frame

    Forgot to mention, that at 9 months Riya was also nursing at 10:30 pm. She stopped doing that very recently.

    Raj
     
  6. indianmama

    indianmama New IL'ite

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    Re: formula/breastfeeding time frame

    6:45am Breastfeeding
    8:30am Breakfast(oatmeal)
    9:30am Breastfeed to put her to nap
    11:30am Cheese(not always)
    12:30pm veggie puree or rice+dal+veggie
    1:30pm Breastfeed to put her to nap
    4:30pm Pumped breastmilk(1ounce) or applejuice(1ounce) or biscuit
    6:00pm Fruit or oatmeal
    7:30pm Breastfeed to put her to sleep

    During night she wakes up every 2 hrs or sometimes even every 1 hr and she nurses only for couple of minutes.

    In the above schedule whenever I said breastfeeding she doesn't suck but just keep my nipple in her mouth and I hear swallowing occasionally. I cannot nurse her when she is awake thats why I chose to nurse her only before putting her to sleep.
     
  7. Riyasmommy

    Riyasmommy Silver IL'ite

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    Re: formula/breastfeeding time frame

    indianmama, what does her doctor say about her weight and overall health? Why do you think she's not getting enough nourishment, her diet looks good to me.

    About swallowing while nursing, some babies can be very quiet, my daughter is one of those. I don't hear her swallow at all, and I used to worry if she was even nursing, but then my mother told me that if my breasts feel soft after the nursing session, the baby has had her fill.

    What do you mean when you say you can't nurse her when she's awake? You may have better luck with an 'active' session when she's awake as opposed to when she's tired and sleepy. She maybe falling asleep the minute you put her on your boob. You can always nurse her right before her sleeping time too, if that's how she is used to falling asleep.

    Raj
     
  8. tikka

    tikka Gold IL'ite

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    Re: formula/breastfeeding time frame

    Indianmom, I agree with Raj. Her intake sounds good to me. If there is no weight concerns, I would think you are doing great.

    These are the changes I will make to your plan. I will nurse half an hour before the breakfast. Nurse again at 11.30 instead of cheese. Give the cheese at 4.30 after I nurse or EBM, but not the juice or biscuit.
    In my understanding, when you introduce solids at six months you give a few tsps increasing it to a couple of oz, 45 min to one hour AFTER you nurse. Solids complement nursing/formula with breast milk or formula being the primary source of nutrition. The link I posted earlier is aimed at mothers who want to nurse beyond 1st year, so you can adapt it for your needs.
    As for the disctractible baby goes, K was like that between 4 months and 1 year. Putting him on the breast was a task. I too tended to nurse him before he slept mostly. Nursing in a quiet, dark room with a nursing necklace worked for most parts. I did not expect him to empty out my breasts, but put him on it often enough, with block nursing from one breast for 3 hours. Yes, it is very energy intensive...
    Breast compressions also worked for me to ensure K is drinking and not using my boobs as pacifers (LOL). Hope this helps.

    Also wanted to point out that water consumption can also impact bfing. Have you considered offering expressed BM with meals instead of water... I did that whenever K got a bit backed up, I found sips of water after meal/snack was sufficient to keep K hydrated. Also that BM was a good laxative as opposed to artificial means of inducing a BM like suppositories.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2008

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